The tornadoes that ravaged the state on April 27 - including this massive one in Tuscaloosa - will be part of the discussion at this month's Rocket City Geospatial Conference. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton, File)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The directors of two state agencies that deal with disasters are slated to speak at the fifth annual Rocket City Geospatial Conference in Huntsville.

Spencer Collier, the director of Homeland Security for the State of Alabama, and Art Faulkner, the director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, are keynote speakers at the Nov. 15-16 event. It will be in the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

"It is rare that we have the two senior state executives responsible for emergency response efforts available to speak at the same forum," said Joe Francica, conference chair. "The events of April 27 are still fresh in everyone's mind, and these individuals will report on how we might better address natural disasters in the future."

Sessions at the two-day conference will include the emergency response to the April tornado outbreak, and the location and security of the nation's nuclear power plants. The event will also host the Alabama Geographic Information Systems conference.Faulkner will speak at 1:45 p.m., and Collier will speak at 4:10 p.m. on the conference's opening day.

"We ... requested they speak because of their experience with recent natural disasters in North Alabama," said Francica, who is with Directions Media, the conference host. "Their unique perspectives and insights will help us prepare for future natural or man-made disasters."

They will also be part of a public forum about the applications of geospatial technology around the state in the GIS conference.

Other speakers include Joel Campbell, president of satellite imaging software company ERDAS; Tim Lorello, executive vice president of TeleCommunications Systems; and Russ Holder, vice president, Intergraph Government Systems.They will address cloud computing, cybersecurity and location intelligence.